To prevent multiple sclerosis, attention must be paid to reducing risk factors.
Behavioral risk factors
- Diet
- Consumption of animal fats and meat
- High intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA).
- High salt intake – (co)factor in the development of autoimmunity; is controversial.
- Micronutrient deficiency (vital substances) – see prevention with micronutrients.
- Consumption of stimulants
- Tobacco (smoking, passive smoking)
- Improves the prognosis in terms of the degree of disability
- Has an impact on the time to transition to secondary chronic progression (SPMS): each additional year of smoking after diagnosis accelerates time to SPMS conversion by 4.7
- Tobacco (smoking, passive smoking)
- Psycho-social situation
- Stress – stressful events are discussed as risk factors.
- Overweight (BMI ≥ 25; obesity).
- “Lack of sunlight” (vitamin D) – prevalence for MS increases with distance from the equator, with the highest prevalence being 250 sufferers per 100,000 population in the north of Scotland.
Prevention factors
- Genetic factors:
- Genetic risk reduction depending on gene polymorphisms:
- Genes/SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism):
- Gene: IL7R
- SNP: rs6897932 in gene IL7R
- Allele constellation: CT (0.91-fold).
- Allele constellation: TT (0.70-fold)
- Genes/SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism):
- Genetic risk reduction depending on gene polymorphisms:
- UV light in childhood: 55% lower risk of MS for children receiving moderate or high doses of UV light during summer months at ages 5-15 years – compared with children with low sun exposure
Secondary prevention
- Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who breastfed their infants for two months or longer after birth were significantly less likely to suffer a disease flare during the first six months.
